The Roman Baths

Yesterday was our first real day in Bath. First thing on the agenda was laundry. We had not done any since leaving Wellington so we were both down to our last items of clothes. We trekked around Bath during snow flurries with our laundry in tow and eventually found a laundromat only minutes before frostbite would have set in. The strangest thing however was the number of locals walking around in very little clothing, there was a girl out running in shorts and a t-shirt and a very staunch guy strutting around in a tank top. I am not sure what they put in the water round here but it must be something close to anti-freeze.

Inside the Roman Baths

With our clothes dilemma averted we set out for the Roman Baths. The Baths are really quite amazing as four generations of architecture: Roman, Medieval, Georgian and contemporary occupy the same site. The audio tour is really great and perhaps the only let down is the contemporary architectural moves which seem to have been designed by a committee of old people. Considering the really bold Roman/Georgian architecture the contemporary stuff is really weak and I was left wishing Nicolas Grimshaw or Fosters had been brought in to stick it up the conservative old fogies that secretly run and ruin every half-decent city in the world (just look at Wellingtons waterfront).

Admiring the hot water

Afterwards we were pretty cold so we headed off to the world famous Sally Lunn Bun shop. The pokey little building was pretty amazing considering it has a history dating back to Roman times. We rounded off the brief tour with a pot of tea and some Sally Lunn Buns which are a cross between an English muffin and a big hamburger bun. The food was really good but like everything in England the service was below par. The English for some reason have this attitude that they are doing you a favour by serving you. Its quite ridiculous and they really need to get over themselves if they want to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Some very pretty Roman jewellery. The patterns on the paper are inscribed into the gum

Before 5:30 we did intend to look through the Royal Photographic Societys gallery but even with two different maps and the knowledge nothing has changed in this city for hundreds of years we could not find the place. We ended the day by going to see Vanity Fair, an English period piece drama set in London but actually filmed in Bath. If you are wondering what Bath looks like you should probably watch Vanity Fair but guys should bring a pillow as the movie sometimes feels longer than a British Airways flight.